ITspanish hotels They are fashionable around the world, especially in Europe. Spain was the destination for investment of one in three euros in hotels between January and August 2023. Especially, Complexes worth 2 billion euros were tradedAccording to ‘The Hotel Property Telescope’ report prepared by the international consultancy firm EY, the total at the European level is over 7,000 million.
Spain’s weight in the European hotel market is at its highest level in recent years. Investments made in this asset class in our country so far in 2023 Represents 29% of the Old Continent’s totalCompared to 29% in 2022, 19% in 2021, 12% in 2020, or 9% in 2021.
Hotel investments constituted 42% of registered investments in our country. Between January and August 2023. 2,000 million was more than double the registered investment of 800 million in offices, 400 million in commercial assets, 900 million in logistics and 600 million in alternative assets. In addition to everything else transacted, EY states: There are 2 billion 43 million assets to be traded in the futuremore than half in the medium term.
Despite this swollen ‘pipeline’, which is real estate English to describe the number of operations that could be closed in the future, by 2023 hotel investment is 22% lower than in 2022It was the third-best year in the historic series, just behind 2017 and 2018. But these seemingly negative data emerge in the context of large declines in investment volumes, particularly declines of 50% in the first half. Economic policy of central banks. Rate increases have an impact on the value of assets that are not fully adjusted.
Arab capital, main hero
The capital of Arab origin has become the capital city that has carried out the largest operations to date in Spain, especially this year. Three of the four most important investments and 61% of investment volume. This is an unusual phenomenon because the share of such investors has only remained between 0% and 20% in recent years; but in 2022, they increased their weight to closer to 40%. Particularly between January and August 2023, the most active player was Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADIA, which made two significant investments.
The first of these was a portfolio purchase. 17 hotel complexes with 2,600 roomspaid for 600 million to Equity Inmuebles, a company controlled by the Calero, Briones and Mazin families, founders of the Tryp chain. It was the second largest operation in Europe in 2023 and came only after the 650 million operation in which Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s investment vehicle Dubai Holding paid 650 million for The Westin Paris Vendôme.
ADIA’s second operation was the acquisition of 51% of the company. Calviá Beach Project, in Magaluf (Mallorca). Specifically, paid by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund 110 million The seven hotels, which will continue to be managed by Meliá, which retains ownership of the remaining 49% of the portfolio, will be transferred to the American opportunistic fund Avenue Capital. The transaction covers the Meliá South Beach, Sol House The Studio-Calviá Beach, Sol Barbados, Sol Wave House all Suites, Meliá Calviá Beach, Sol Guadalupe and Innside by Meliá Calviá Beach hotels.
Another transaction in which Arab capital plays a leading role is Mandarin Oriental Hotel From Barcelona. Olayan Group, the investment group of the Saudi-origin billionaire Olayan family, 200 million For the American fund Farallon, which bought the assets of the Reig family and the debt of the Andorra group from CaixaBank in 2020. This operation was closed for a record price of 1.66 million lira for each of its 120 rooms.
It was among the highest trades of the period and the only trade not carried out by this eastern capital. Sofia HotelAlso in Barcelona, it bought the investment arm of insurer AXA from the world’s largest asset manager, Brookfield AM, through Blasson Property Investments. 180 million euros. There were also significant transactions for smaller sums, some of which were carried out by the national capital: the purchase of a portfolio of three complexes in the Balearic Islands, which Banca March closed with Starwood for 110 million, Hotel W Ibiza To Scala Capital by Italian fund Statuto 97 millionTwo hotels or complexes owned by Globalia, which were transferred to the Spanish-Swiss management company Stoneweg for 83 million Marina D’OrIt was purchased by Grupo Fuertes, the Murcian company that also owns El Pozo, for $63 million.